A Dance of Colors at Sunset
by c1araoswa1d
Summary: Tumblr Whouffle Prompt: Can you do a fic with Eleven and Clara fluffily cuddling


"Wait for it," he tells her, one hand rising and gesturing at the sun setting in the distance as Clara releases an exaggerated sigh while planting her hands behind herself on his spread out coat. She crosses her legs and looks over the way his eyebrows continue to arch upwards, wrinkling his forehead, and she finally smiles and nods.

"The sun feels like it's been setting for two hours," she mutters.

He picks absently at the blades of grass just in front of him and nods slowly, watching the glowing orb just on the horizon for a moment before admitting, "Two hours and thirteen minutes."

"We've been sitting her for two hours and thirteen minutes?" Clara barks in amusement. "You said the setting would be slow, but you said it would be worth the wait."

He points a long green bit of grass floppily at the sun, "_Wait for it_."

"Better be worth…" she begins.

"It will be," he interrupts.

Clara humphs and the Doctor smiles, bowing his head slightly before turning to look at her. In the setting sun her skin is tinted gold and he watches as wisps of long bangs shift over her temple and ear and after a moment she grins, feeling his eyes on her. Clara clears her throat and he knows the unspoken words ratting through her mind just before he glances up to the sun and then down at his watch knowing he probably should have timed it better, but if he'd arrived just on time – he knew – he wouldn't get to see her stretched out over the inner lining of his coat, absolutely relaxed and impatiently waiting for the spectacle he'd promised her.

If he'd arrived on time they wouldn't have been able to find just the right spot. If he'd arrived on time, he wouldn't have been able to tell her all about the green birds with the bright red beaks who hopped across the landscape in front of them because they weren't properly equipped to fly. If the Doctor and Clara had arrived on time, it would have been a moment instead of a memory and as he looks her over again, he knows he prefers the latter.

"Where, exactly," she begins quietly, tilting her head towards him without taking her eyes off the sunset and when he gestures up, she gives him another long sigh, "But where, _exactly_."

"Right _there_," he points.

"_But where_, _exactly_. _There_ is a direction, not really a _point_ in…" her words stop as he pushes to stand, hands clapping over his trousers to rid himself of blades of grass and bits of ground before he moves behind her, slipping his long legs underneath her arms swiftly to drop down against her backside with a grunt. The Doctor holds her left shoulder steady with one hand and he moves the other over her right shoulder, pointing at a spot just over the sun.

With his mouth inches from her ear, he breathes, "_Right there_."

"_Oh_," Clara manages, elbows going weak as he inches forward, curving her body up slightly so she's hovering in front of his chest and she turns ever so slightly, glancing up to find him staring down at her with a soft smile. He chuckles then, taking her hands and dropping them on his thighs before nodding forward.

"Wait for it," he repeats, remaining upright, forcing her to choose to either awkwardly lean forward, or settle against him and she imagines he has no idea how intimate they're sitting at that moment, otherwise, he would be fumbling about. Instead, he's staring up at the sunset, a look of excitement on his face as he waits.

Dropping her head back against his collar as she lays into him, Clara considers him a moment, some mischievous thought in her mind, but before she can speak, the top of the sun hits the edge of the planet and there's a burst. The light around them goes out, but against the indigo sky in front of her there's a swirl of colors. Green and red tendrils reach into the sky in smokey waves and it seems to rain down underneath them in showers of purples and blues and Clara gasps, the fingers of her right hand curling over his leg in surprise.

The Doctor laughs, his chin finding a spot against the side of her head before he tilts slightly to watch the way her lips curl upwards as her eyes widen, trying to take in more of the sparkling lights as he explains, "The sky here is dense with water molecules – it's why you're feeling a big sluggish and your hair's begun to wave – and just beyond this tundra the earth drops away sharply, it's surface a glassy mirror that when hit in just the right direction, reflects the dying sun's rays back out into that atmosphere…"

"Like a rainbow after a storm," Clara breaths, turning to offer a laugh.

He smiles, listening to her as he watches her turn back to the sky, momentarily wishing she hadn't looked away because he could see the magic of that sky in her eyes and he wants to see it through her instead of over her shoulder. She releases a giggle, leaning into him even further and he wraps his arms around her absently, swaying slightly with the movements of the colors in front of them, "An elaborate dance, changing with the winds."

Bringing her hands up to curl around his, Clara nods and she tells him quietly, "I like this dance."

Kissing the top of her head softly, he smiles knowingly and replies, "Wait until the sun slips down further and the moon rises."

Clara turns, her right hand rubbing gently at his forearm as she asks excitedly, "What happens when the moon rises?" And he can see the possibilities churning in her mind as he looks to her fingers, moving delicately against him as he nods and looks around them before glancing back with a sly grin she mirrors.

"Wait for it."


End file.
